Cage Build thread

[Flight]

Hi new poster here!:wave1:


Although my new buddy will be with me most of the time and my home is his/or her home,he/she still needs a place to chill and call its own right?This thread will be about building his cage from an old speaker box.Please give me your insight,Criticisms comments,and suggestions.And of course i will be supplying some pictures.


The Old speaker box and Wire:
3843

Once i get it Cut i will post some more pics and info:D

[tstmard]

Welcome to Talk Budgies!:) One thing to be careful about is you want to use untreated wood because they will chew on it and you don't want to use wire with more then 1/2" spacing. And also you want to make sure there's nothing harmful on the wire. If it's galvanized you need to scrub it with a vinager and water solution(I'm pretty sure that's what it is), if it's hardware cloth you'll need to soak it in hot water and baking soda to remove the zinc. Good luck on building it though. I'm planning on building an indoor cage for mine as well as an outdoor one.

[Flight]

Luckily I used my brain before i jumped into things.:p the wire is about 2 years old but i soaked it to be safe anyways.If i paint the inside of the cage with latex paint would it discourage the bird from chewing on it?:S

[califjewls]

Hi and welcome Flight! Unfortunately nothing discourages birds from chewing wood whether painted or not. A wood bottom cage is not really something you can sanitize properly, do you plan on place a acrylic bottom or some type of material that can be sanitized properly. Also a grate in your birds cage is also something that should be used so that a bird can not forage in droppings, it can cause illness.

Have you thought of looking for a cage built for birds at garage sales or in the newspaper? You can often find them very inexpensive, also eBay offers cages at a very good price. You can get a table top flight cage for $20-$30 w/shipping.

[Flight]

Ok heres the build Photos

The top door slat is cut out.
3850

Then the Slat for the Light strip is Cut.
3851

Wire is added so the Bird does not have access to the Light and a hinge and catch is put on the door.
3852

The front of the cage is cut out.
3853

Wire and borders are added.
3854

[Flight]

Then the door and light are attached to the top of the cage and the cage is complete.
3855

[Flight]

Hi and welcome Flight! Unfortunately nothing discourages birds from chewing wood whether painted or not. A wood bottom cage is not really something you can sanitize properly, do you plan on place a acrylic bottom or some type of material that can be sanitized properly. Also a grate in your birds cage is also something that should be used so that a bird can not forage in droppings, it can cause illness.

Have you thought of looking for a cage built for birds at garage sales or in the newspaper? You can often find them very inexpensive, also eBay offers cages at a very good price. You can get a table top flight cage for $20-$30 w/shipping.

Hi, thanks for the welcome,I will be adding a grate and pan system before purchasing my buddy.(And i am not a fan of all wire cages)

[Budgietom]

I am just wondering, when I sae the top door which was cut off. It doesn't look too big for even a budgie. What are the measurements of the base?

[tstmard]

I am just wondering, when I sae the top door which was cut off. It doesn't look too big for even a budgie. What are the measurements of the base?

I was thinking the same thing. I have a really hard time seeing it as something that is suitable for a budgie. And if you don't have the $ to make a cage the appropriate size and with the right materails maybe you should still wait to get your bird. Wood really is cheap. I hand it to you for trying to use something you already had but you might want to rethink it and go buy some lumber and make it bigger.

[califjewls]

Flight, I am actually wondering what the measurements are of that speaker as BudgieTom asked also? Because it could be that the photos are deceiving but that does not at all look big enough for a budgie who needs flight in a cage, even if they spend a lot of time out of cage they still need flight room, room for toys, dishes, several types of perches, etc. The minimum requirements for a budgies cage should be 24" wide x 18" high x 18".

A budgie really does enjoy looking all around their cage, whereas with this type of containment they can only see out the front, it reminds me of an exhibition type containment, which is not an ideal living for a budgie all year round.

There is a great thread on here about building a aviary, if your looking to build something.

[Flight]

Yea there is some distortion in the photos from when i had to resize them.
The cage is 48 inches long by 20 wide 24 tall.

[califjewls]

Here is the thread on building an aviary, you can build it any size you like.
http://talkbudgies.com/showthread.php?t=18723&highlight=indoor+aviary

[Budgietom]

Yea there is some distortion in the photos from when i had to resize them.
The cage is 48 inches long by 20 wide 24 tall.

We use centimetres in Australia so I do not know how big that is. I'll leave it for the other members to determine whether is is big enough or not.

[Budgietom]

Here is the thread on building an aviary, you can build it any size you like.
http://talkbudgies.com/showthread.php?t=18723&highlight=indoor+aviary

This seems like a much better idea. You can build something for your friend, and he gets a nice and big cage.

[titoandMac]

budgiefinders cage seems quite big. It is more than a meter long and around 1/3 of a meter tall and wide

[Flight]

I actually have 3 Large aviary's that need a little work i de-commissioned them due to the abundance of Ferrell Cats in the neighbor hood.They would come up and spook the daylights out of the poor birds.each one is about 8ft long by 10ft high and 6ft wide .

[Budgietom]

So this cage you're building is going to be inside?

[Flight]

Yes the cage has to be inside until i can do something about the cats.,But i just dont know what to do about them.:S

[atvchick95]

do you have animal control?

I see our local Animal Shelter's truck drive by my house i know 15-20 times a day, on calls to 'stray' animals

[califjewls]

Yes the cage has to be inside until i can do something about the cats.,But i just dont know what to do about them.:S

I read somewhere on another thread about using orange peels to keep cats away from an outdoor aviary, cats hate orange peels, a motion sensor light that would go on when a cat came near the cage, a dog works too..

Heres a thread about cats near the aviary..
http://talkbudgies.com/showthread.php?t=2697&highlight=indoor+aviary

[Flight]

Yea i would LOVE to have my aviaries back in action. i spent allot of time and money building them,I plexiglassed the roofs had nesting boxes,the whole 9 yards but the cat problem got so bad that my birds would hurt themselves flying into the walls when i went to feed them because the cats had driven them into a nervous breakdown.

But also i would like to have my bird inside with me so i can teach him,and have him near me to listen and possibly learn to speak.

So if i purchase a cage what would be a good size to accommodate two budgies(Indoors).If I can teach the first one to speak i will introduce another one afterwards and they can teach eachother.

[tstmard]

Well after reading the measurments it sound big enough. Have you considered cutting "windows" in the ends and screening them so it will have more then just the one open side?

[Flight]

I was considering that during the build. But the thought that had arisen to me was the drafts.when they go to sleep in there i dont want to much of a draft biting at them.

[tstmard]

If they are going to be inside you can cover the cage with a blanket, sheet, or towell so they wouldn't get a draft.

[Flight]

I was also thinking of piecing some wooden dowels together to make a little out of cage playset.but my primary concern is,Is there a such thing as a budgie safe paint?

[tstmard]

You could color the dowels with food coloring or the type of stuff they use to color frosting. I've used food coloring to color some craft sticks and I know others on here use the frosting stuff.

[Flight]

Ah I see.Oh, and should i add some straw for them to make beds from, my finches used to love straw.And what precautions should i take to sanitize the straw of potential parasites like mites ect. before placing it in the cage?

[tstmard]

They don't need any bedding. If you give them bedding that could encourage egg laying which I don't really think you're looking for. Just give them a good perch or swing and that's where they'll sleep.

[Flight]

Ok thanks again.In addition to a water dish should i give them a shallow bowl to wash in?

Bear with me Im learning :D

[tstmard]

Yes you could provide a dish of water or spray them with a misting water bottle with luke warm water having the water fall down on them not right at them. Alot of people on here who are able to leave their birds out have a dish of water out of their cage for the birds to bathe in. No problem ask away that's what we are all here for to help each other learn.

[Flight]

I was also reading a thread last night explaining the use of plants with your budgies cage. i think i might add a few small pieces of my "mother in laws tongue" to the cage to give it a more natural feel.

[tstmard]

Are you sure it's bird safe? I just looked it up and everything I read says it's toxic.:eek: I know it under the name of snake plant which I have some on my counter but the birds are never near it to eat. You might want to look and see what plants are safe for budgies.

[Flight]

hm one of the resource sites i was reading said it was safe :X maybe it was listed not safe? let me check for a second.

[Flight]

Ah here is the site.

http://www.birdsnways.com/articles/plntsafe.htm

[Flight]

Or maybe some sword fern would be nice.

[tstmard]

Well it says it's safe. I don't remeber the site I was at I'd just done a google search on it but it said that it was a toxic plant. Fern would be cool. I think when I get my cage built I might do some herbs in it for them or even spider plant would be cool too.

[Flight]

I have many spiderplants, are those safe also?

[tstmard]

It's on the safe list from that site you posted.

[Flight]

Yea,but with the mothers tongue which you said was toxic there are some doubts as to the accuracy of that site :P

[Hinamori]

Here is a website that I trust, It says that Spider plant and Mother In Law is safe.

http://www.plannedparrothood.com/plants.html

[Flight]

I potted a nice boston fern and tomorrow i will be potting some snake and spider plants.

[Budgietom]

Sounds pretty good. Can't wait for the photos * hint hint*

[Flight]

I will get some pics for you guys.It has been raining nonstop here or i would have gone ahead and done it today.
Although it wont look great until i get some more plants and it fills out.
I may get a small hanging orchid .
When i Build my next cage it will have a planting bed in the bottom.

[birdybuddy1]

It sounds like it will be very pretty with the plants! :)
Sorry if I interpreted you picture wrong, but al all the sides solid wood? If so, I'd think the budgie would like to be able to see out of the cage! :S

[swishmom98]

I'm anxious to see a new picture of your new cage. It is big enough for one budgie or two of them. I like your design. If you put the one side that is not wired against the wall you don't need to wire it for them to see out of because it will be just the wall they look at. As long as the front and sides are open, they will be fine. I like your light idea, just make sure they don't get too hot. You don't have to have it on all the time. I like the idea of your plants. Budgies love plants. Do you have your perches and swing made yet. I have some toys I can send you if you need some. Making a playgym is a good idea too. Can't wait to hear and see more.